How to Take the Perfect Photo on Any Camera (Even Your Smartphone)

Air Canada enRoute's professional photographers reveal their simple secrets to snapping a great shot.

Aug 17, 2016
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By Caitlin Walsh Miller

Backgrounds

ExpertsLM Chabot

Photo taken for: “Mr. Dress Up” (December 2013)

“If you’ve got a great background – like here, at Atlanta menswear shop Sid Mashburn – stand back and leave space for it to tell its story. And if you don’t, focus on one element and use whatever natural light you have coming in. You can use an adjacent white wall (or even just a white shirt) to reflect the light.”

Favourite location

South Africa. We were there during the spring, so the days were short and the light was amazing – almost always soft and golden.

Perspective

ExpertGunnar Knechtel

Photo taken for: “Checking into Portugal” (July 2014)

“ Find someplace high you can access. Not only do you get amazing perspective on a new city, but it gives you a sense of how it was built. We were up in the Santa Justa Lift looking over Lisbon’s Rua do Carmo, in the afternoon – not the best time for taking photos because of the harsh sunlight. But it created this interesting graphic situation, almost like black and white.”

Dream destination

Canada. All these years shooting for Air Canada enRoute, and I’ve never been. I’ve met so many wonderful Canadians, and my head is full with stories from this country.

Food

ExpertEva Kolenko

Photo taken for: “Kittitian Confidential” (November 2015)

“Some dishes, like chili and stew, just aren’t photogenic. Focus instead on a beautiful element, like the ingredients. I could shoot produce all day long. What I love about this shot is the connection with nature – these spring onions had just been pulled out of the earth at Belle Mont Farm on St. Kitts.”

Dream destination

Japan. I would just eat – and shoot – ramen and raw fish. Seafood is so light and striking in photographs.

Light

ExpertJohan Hallberg-Campbell

Photo taken for: “Remote Access” (May 2016)

“Left on automatic, your camera isn’t smart enough to see changing light, like the dark in the grass or the brightness of the sky here in Battle Harbour, Labrador. Experiment with the “aperture priority mode.” The aperture is an iris in the lens that lets more or less light in. If you’re shoot-ing in a low-light situation, without a flash, open it up. Doing so will reduce camera shake, which will help avoid blurry images.”

Photo taken for: “Remote Access” (May 2016)

“I kept coming back to this location. When I walked by at sunset, the light was on. There was a man in a red T-shirt reading. So peaceful – my idea of happiness.”

Favourite location

Newfoundland. There’s a kind of blanket across the sky that creates the most beautiful light, like a soft box that’s been placed over the sun.